Guard of My Own Heart
by Toufuu Logan
Summary: Death isn't something you normally think of when you're 18, but when an accident happened and I'm left on the brink of death, the only way to survive is to play a game with Life and Death. Traversing this land is a dream come true, but at any point I could miss a Task and lose all of the life that I have left to live. The one thing keeping me going is that I'll see them again.
1. Pay to Play Game of Survival

I don't know if anyone is reading this, or if this is simply going to be a journal. However I wanted to get my thoughts out before the events that wil transpire.

Death is something that you never think about when you're young.

Often when someone dies, you're simply told that they moved on to a better place, or they passed away. Often you don't think much of it, until it happens to you. A car accident can give a thirteen year old boy the shock of his life, showing him his mortality.

A second accident at eighteen can take it away completely.

However I am getting ahead of myself.

Sometimes the world just throws a storm your way and you have to weather it out. Sometimes, you end up losing the things you hold close, and other times the things you lose are a person. Over the past two months I've lost at both. I stood on the edge of the dock, looking out into the water and staring at my reflection.

I'm a writer, you see, and recently I have both my muse, in the form of a friend who I fell apart with, lost my inspiration in the form of what I enjoy. Movies, Songs, Games, Books, et all. I grabbed a rock and tossed it down, watching the ripples distort my image with a sigh. Rain fell softly down around me and a small bit of lightning crossed the sky as I turned to my dark red Ford Escape and sat in the driver's seat, the warm air blowing across my face contrasting nicely with the autumn air. I fiddled with the Radio for a little as I drove, grumbling as it went to older music, then Call me maybe, and multiple other terrible songs. A loud screech sounded and when I turned another car driving much too fast on the slippery road.

It slammed into the side of my car with the force of, well, a car colliding into another. The other car T-boned the front half of my Escape hard enough for me to jerk foreword and jam my seatbelt into my gut since the chest piece was behind my seat. I choked for a second as my own car swerved, ramming into the railing on the side of the highway and breaking off my mirror. Before I could do anything else the railing ended and my car slid off the highway and into the forest on the side of the road, topping over and finally slamming into a tree and jerking me forward again, slamming my head into the . All of that happened before I coud even register anything, but the moment I could enough pain washed over me to knock me unconscious.

Or so I thought.

It turned out that when you crack your head open once there's a chance that the next time you do it could severely hurt you.

I "Awoke" in a room with sky blue walls and a white floor to two people arguing quietly. I couldn't make out any words but when I sat up- surprised I could and didn't seem to have any medical equipment attached to me- the voices stopped and I could see a pair of people.

Both seemed to have stopped mid-bickering and stared at me. One had white-blond hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a black tuxedo, and the other had pitch black hair, dark brown eyes, and wore a white dress shirt and light tan pants. Both also had a bit of an aura around them and looked away from me as I groaned in confusion.

"Hello." The white haired one said with a bow, the voice seemed gentle like the ocean and was softer than a breeze

"Hey." The brunette said with a wave of one hand. His voice radiated power and warmth. like a father.

I opened my mouth to ask something but froze as my surroundings focused. I wasn't on in a room with sky blue walls, but instead the room was open to the air, and the white floor wasn't hard like most. It was almost like I was sitting on a soft bed of down or something.

Or a cloud.

"I'm dead. Deaddeaddeaddead dead!" I bounded up, my mind going from normal to WHAT THE FUCK in ten seconds flat. I ran around the two muttering in shock, "Oh man my mom's gonna kill me! Wait, I'm already dead. Why the hell did I go driving in the damn rain! I an such an IDIOT. I got my license less than three days and I already die in an accident!"

"Michael..."

"Logan..."

I ignored the duo using both of my names and plopped on the cloud beneath me with a scream of frustation. "DAMMIT I'M ONLY EIGHTEEN! I'm just starting college! I've barely even had a life!"

"Michael!"

"Logan!"

"I wanted to go through college, get my degree, cover more songs on youtube while I become a forensic chemist in a crime lab in a small city, get to know some girl, get married, have a kid or two named Thomas Logan after my uncle and Virginia Renee after my grandparents-" The duo snapped at me and yelled my name a third time, causing me to turn. "What?"

The two looked at each other and the blond said, "I believe it's your turn to explain."

"Fine." The brunette replied the brunette walked over to me and held out his hand. "Welcome to the realm between life and death."

Aand my brain snapped. I took his hand mechanically and shook it. "You know me. What about you?"

The brunette clipped out, "Birth. Or creation. Or construction. Basically anything to do with something coming to alive and you can call me that. I'm one of the dwellers of the realm of Life"

The blond smiled warmly. "Demise, destruction, or death." The blond blew his hair out of his eyes. "I am one of the Realm of Death's inhabitants."

I went to speak but Birth said, "We get it a lot; "I would've thought that the light one would be life and the dark one would be death.""

Demise chuckled. "It can get tiring. So why don't we explain why you are here."

I nodded and sat on the ground again, the two forming chairs from the cloud beneath us and sitting on them. "You're here because you're currently about to die, but there's a chance you could live."

"You are exactly in the middle point right now. This isn't the first time this has happened, and it by far wouldn't be the last. With a simple nudge in fate you could live or die."

"And since our leaders, Life and Death- yes those are the names- like to give people the chance to determine their own fate, they crafted what we call "Survive.". A series of tasks for the person to go through in a different world to determine which path they follow."

"The best comparison would be the Reaper's Game from The World Ends With You, however the difference is that the time frame is much longer than a week."

"You start out with a series of "Points" equal to the number of years you were planned to live before dying of natural causes. These points start out by buying you abilities to use to survive. Stronger abilities cost more points, and you can penalize yourself to earn yourself more points."

"Your time limit is the amount of points you have."

"You were planned to die sometime in your seventies, so you'll have 75 points to start with."

"Doing challenges earns you points."

"Failing them makes you lose points."

"The harder the challenge"

"The more points they are worth when you win."

"You reach zero, you'll die naturally in your sleep in the reality you are sent to and die in your reality."

"When you earn high enough points, you will receive another "Shopping Trip" to earn more abilities."

"Your end goal is to reach until the end of the reality's quest."

"For example, if we sent you into a Pokemon Reality, your goal would be to defeat the champion, or in the case of Gold, Silver, and Crystal, defeating the former champion Red."

"For realities with multiple results for the quests, you must reach the happiest."

"Or in the case of Persona 3, the True ending."

My jaw was on the floor as I cut them off, "Wait a second, I have a few questions."

"Shoot."

"Fire away."

I ticked them off, "How am I between life and death, why was I chosen, What "Reality" will you send me too, what kind of "Abilities" do you mean, and lastly when can we start?"

"The head injury from the crash could either kill you, or simply crack your head open again and it is right at the line. In your reality, time is frozen as surgeons work to bring you back to life."

"You were chosen because the last Survivor's game ended with his death a few minutes before your possible one. He spent his time having a good life instead of doing his tasks."

"Life chose that reality you wrote a story for, Tales of Symphonia. The end goal being the defeat of Yggdrasial and rejoining of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla."

"Abities such as magic, weapon skils, racial abilities, mystical artifacts, anything to strengthen your chance of survival. Or in the case of Penalties, hinder it."

The two waved their hands and a book fell into my lap. "We apologize it isn't very extravagant,"

"But it gets tiring spending a lot of power on a light show."

I lost track of who was speaking since they almost finished each others' words. I guess... I was still in shock out of all of this. I let out a chuckle and that proved it. "I'm a self-insert." I started laughing harder, my thoughts blanking out as the two put a hand on my shoulders and tried shaking me aware. It didn't work. I was laughing to hard as the stress got to me.

I only laughed so hard twice before in my life. The first one was after my grandmother's funeral when I was five, when I just couldn't believe she was dead. The second was when I was rammed by a car a few years back- reminding me of what happened.

I have no idea how long I laughed, but all of the stress of dying was let out and my body started shivering. "I- I can't do this!" I grabbed my head as my emotions spiraled out of control, warring sides of myself trying to dominate. The hurt side happy to leave the pain of my world, the fearful worrying about the pain of Sylvarant. The joyous side anticipating meeting new friends, but the sorrowful dreading leaving behind my old. My head started hurting and I groaned. The emotional spiral would end quickly, but it'll leave me with a damn headache for a few days.

"Er... Of course." Birth sighed and turned to Demise and said, "That divided emotional state might be a problem."

"It gives us a guideline for that though."

"Do we really want to do that? The last time we did that, the guy got a complex."

"Logan here already has one it seems."

"True."

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here?" I asked, rubbing my temples as my emotional spectrum narrowed into "Excitement" and "Worry."

I flipped through the book they gave me to try and distract myself and I pulled a few pages out from it, choosing the abilities I thought would help most.

I took a final tally of what I had to make sure I had enough points

Weapon: Bow and Arrows. 2 points.

Knowledge of how to weild Bow and Arrows. 6 points.

Proficiency with Bow and Arrows. 5 points (Yeah, there's a difference between knowing how, and doing it well, and I'm covering my bases. I may do it well but not know or vice versa.)

Armor: Light 3 points (Soft leather bodice, leg armor, gloves, boots, etc.)

Clothing: Sylvaranti. 10 points.

Archer Tech Line: 5 points.

Advanced 1st aid kit including multiple gels, bandages, etc: 15 points.

Good physical shape: 10 points(Basically gives me muscles and endurance. Not anything massive (Great and Perfect physical shape were 30 and 50 points respectively) but enough to "Lift 150% body weight and jog for 3 hours". Sounds like much but 150% of 150 is only 225 and the guys I knew in high school were lifting 250-300.

Exsphere. 10 points. 66 points spent, and that leaves 9 for me as a safety net. That is certianly NOT enough.

I looked at the penalties however they all did high numbers or were EXTREMELY damaging. Like "Start out in a Human Ranch" or "Have a curse" or " Be forced to do the Abyssion sidequest." (Okay that last one was +400 due to how easy it could be to die against him, but really, who in their right mind would do that without also picking "Angelic" which was -8999 points.)

While the two scanned a list of possible tasks for me, I scanned through the penalties and found one that I actually liked. Not that damaging too since I could easily hide it. "Be a Half-elf. +50" My hair was long enough to cover my ears just in case, it did give me enough- and a prerequisite- to buy Light, Healing, and Dark spells, and the excess is a lot better of a safety net than less than 10.

I took the pages with my choices and handed them to Birth, and he flipped through. "Magic Archer, huh? Why aren't I surprised about it? Neither am I surprised you chose things to fit in more than stand out, even if the Half-elven penalty is odd."

He and Demise put their hands over the pages and the words on them floated around me. Demise pulled out a rather large, octagonal medallion with a heart shaped gemstone embedded in it and handed it to me. "This stone will glow when you have a Task, hold the medallion in your hand and the Task will be shown to you, along with how many points it's worth."

I nodded and the gem glowed, startling me. I held the medallion and words flashed in my mind.

_The righteous arrow pieces the night,_

_And past the Maiden's caring flight._

_Bring the Prince to Maiden's side_

_And first, you must your secret hide._

_3 points. No time limit._

_Current point total: 29_

I blinked as the words faded but the knowledge stayed. I muttered, "Riddles?" as my mouth turned up in a grin.

"It's a game, remember. Life and Death wanted the player to have fun."

I smiled. "If I win, I get to see my family again, right?"

"Yep."

"Certainly."

That settled it. My determination was set. I won't dwell on my family at all because I know for a fact I am going to see them again. I sealed off my longing in the depth of my heart and nodded. "I'm ready."

The words and letters floated into me and a soft haze went over my mind, making me drowsy until I fell asleep.

**Logan: All right, sorry that this doesn't seem... Good. Just getting the reasons out before I start the actual story. Birth and Demise are just 1 chapter characters, and**

**I'm in College right now, so I won't get a chance to update as often as I like, but I'll upload whenever I feel like the chapter is long enough, and good enough.**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Emotional Slot Machines Give Me Migranes

**Logan: Er, wow. I did NOT expect to get so many followers - especially ones that are new- for a rehash of a story.**

**I don't have much to say, so I'll just start the chapter.**

**Mike: Logan doesn't own anything other than me and the general Point-Buy system he used. All context that isn't original belongs to their rightful Owner.**

_Bring the Prince to Maiden's side_

_And first, you must your secret hide._

As I woke up, my Task came to mind. Honestly, it could have been a lot harder than simply "Help Lloyd reach Colette while keeping who you are secret." I rubbed my head and paused as I felt the point to my ears.

"Well, that's interesting." I looked around, seeing a Bow, quiver, arrows, and a few bags beside me and pausing as the movements were a little awkward. I stood, but bounced up a bit from using too much force and fell on my ass again.

"Aaand that hurts." I rubbed the sore spot before trying to get up again and stretching, feeling the way my new muscles moved and trying to get the hang of about 100 less pounds on my body. Felt nice.

"Okay, let's test something." I grabbed the bow and a single arrow and went to notch it. The string was pulled taut, the silver bow bent, and the purple feathered arrow fired straight into the tree on the other side of my rest site. I nodded and smiled. "Awesome!"

I walked over and pulled the arrow out, sharpening the arrowhead with a small knife in my medical kit before putting it back into the quiver and noticing something I really should have earlier-

My outfit was the exact same as the one from my fanfic.

I stared, before stripping down to the bare minimum (Meaning boxer briefs for anyone who gives a damn.) and staring.

No not at the fact that I had moderate abs and my arms were defined rather than flabby. At my clothes.

The green muscle shirt, short sleeved purple hoodie with green stripes and a green hood, green pants with a purple stripe at the "Hem", purple archer's gloves, and no shoes. Even down the color of boxers. Yes I thought that up. I planned on a mid-night sneak attack sometime.

The exsphere was on my chest, key crest included, and the medallion was there too, however it was glowing with a white light, not the pink that it was earlier.. I slipped all my clothes back on, including the weaponry and bags, before grabbing the medallion.

_Shooting faster than a bolt, "Quick Shot."_

_Taking wounds away from allies."First Aid."_

_Use these both during the first boss battle._

I twitched at that. Battling? Goddammit unless I'm protecting people, no way.

_1 point._

Confused, depressed, and excited. I have more than one mission, and it involves fighting? And using techs!?

I tapped my temple as I walked, paused, and started searching the grass behind me. I found my wallet- ID and all that jazz- along with a small money purse and a list of what coin was worth what.

I am so glad I checked. I walked to north, where a small town was. A few pillars of smoke was rising off of it, but more like a few chimneys than anything. As I walked I fiddled with my hair, tying it back and pushing the strands over my ears to cover the points.

I paused and headed behind a tree to release all the squees and fanboying. It took the sun going down quite a bit before I calmed down enough and I walked towards the town again.

"Secret must hide." I muttered. That doesn't say anything about my world...

My eyes widened and I face palmed as I entered the town, waving at the guards and saying hello. I just have to keep myself being a half elf secret.

I walked to the shop and peeked in, seeing it was a small little house with someone at the counter.

"Oh! A customer!" She smiled warmly at me and rushed to my side. "Welcome to Iselia's Item Shop."

I would have been surprised, but the Task involved the beginning of the game. "Hello there. I'm looking for a cap appropriate for an Archer." I said quietly. My eyes went a little fuzzy and I wiped at them.

"Is that all?" She asked me, searching through a few boxes on the side of the shop.

I glanced side to side and stepped beside her, "If you have any gossip about the town, I'd like to hear it." I moved away as she jerked, a beret falling out of her hand, but I caught it with one finger and spun it around.

"Gossip?"

I tilted my head, watching how far so my hair kept covering the points on my ears. "Well, a shop gets everyone in town on a regular basis, so I thought you might know a few things."

She looked at me in confusion and went, "Oh!" before gigging. "You want to know whether the town accepts half-elves."

"Not just that. I'm all for acceptance. Just because one person is terrible doesn't mean everyone like them is." I explained. "But I would like to know a bit about the town itself."

She smiled, "That's a nice thought. It's not shared with everyone though." She went behind the counter and leaned down, looking through somethings. "Most of the town is tolerant, but they won't go out of their way to help half-elves. The Sage siblings are Elves, even if some of the townsfolk think they might be Half-elves they're the more tolerant members and would keep the secret."

I blinked. "Sage? If their name is any indication, the Sages are knowledgeable about magic."

She giggled, "That is the biggest understatement since a few of the pastors said, "The Chosen is humble."" She pushed some of her hair behind her ear and I thought I saw a small point, but that might've been me. "Professor Sage is an excellent healer, even if she can only use a basic spell, and Genis, the younger one." she explained when I faked a cocked eyebrow of confusion. "Has the potential to cast almost every kind of magic."

"Interesting." I smiled, picking up the beret and putting it on my head, along with a few gald onto the counter. "Do you have anything else to tell me?"

She looked me over and said, "Well there is a boy who looks a little like you. Lloyd Irving. He doesn't live in town, though."

"He looks like me?" I jumped at that.

She leaned in close to me and said, "He has the same face shape as you, and the green in your eyes is reddish in his, and he doesn't have the blond bits in your hair, but other than that I could probably mistake you two for one another if you were about twenty or so centimeters shorter."

I blinked and mentally cussed at Demise and Birth. "I doubt the similarities are anything but physical."

She smirked, "Actually, you do have the same 'Aloof' air about you he does, even if you're trying to hide it."

I chuckled and slouched a bit. "That easy, huh?"

"Yes. Don't try to act so stiff, it just seems unnatural." She explained, tilting the beret on my head so it covered one of my ears. "There. You actually look nice with that."

I blushed and scratched my cheek. "Thank you miss..."

She smiled and held out her hand. "Karen."

I raised an eyebrow and took her hand, shaking it a little, "Mike."

Karen handed me a few Magic Lenses and a pair of Orange Gels. "You might need these. On the house."

I smiled. "Thank you, Karen." and put them in the pocket of my jacket before bowing to her, leaving my hat on my head due to practice, and walking out.

The town was relatively quiet, and the sun showed it was sometime around 2 in the afternoon. I walked north a little while and spun one of my arrows around like a baton, eventually passing by the school with no event. Huh. Well that's an-

Holy shit ginormous flash of light and me stumbling and falling on my face in the center of town stunned because zoh my god that was bright as heck.

I was still stunned as Raine ran over me, literally, before stopping and turning around. "I'm sorry about that. Are you o-"

I swore under my breath and sat up, flattening my hair. "I'm fine." I started picking up my arrows and said, "Mike. What's your name?"

"Raine Sage." She answered, looking at me with an odd look. I'd guess it was... Worry? That's the best word I can assign to her face. I may have a lot of emotions but I don't know a lot. I rubbed at a sore spot on my arm and looked in my bag for my first aid kit, but Raine healed it before I could do anything. "As an apology."

"Thank you Ms. Sage." I stood up and nodded to the north. "You were heading that way?"

"Yes I was." She looked me over and said, "Would you like to accompany me?"

No matter how much I wanted to be with a healer, I just couldn't yet. Wait, I could just wait outside the temple! It didn't say I had to be with Lloyd, Genis, and Collete at the start of the boss fight! "Yes please, ma'am."

She nodded and started for the north, "Oh, and you might want to stop pushing your hair behind your ears." My hand froze right at the point and all of my color left my face. "Advice from a fellow Elf." I walked up to her and started babbling as we left the town. None of my thoughts were coherent until she slapped my face. "Sorry about that. You were in shock."

Red coated my cheeks as I rubbed the stinging skin and muttered, "Thanks." before saying. "Er, can I ask you something?"

"You may." She replied cautiously.

I tapped my index fingers together. "... I don't know how to use magic." I muttered. "Or sense mana. Or any other normal elf things." I coughed and glanced at her. " Those weren't questions. What I mean is, "How do you do it?""

She smiled slightly, "You seem like a child right now, you know that right?"

"Please don't remind me." I grumbled, blushing.

I know what you're thinking- Where's the fanboying? The excitement? The zomg it's Raine Sage!

Well...

Raine just seems... normal. Like if I met some random girl and we started talking. It just doesn't seem real yet. Once I end up getting hurt it will seem real and I'll probably end up both in a fetal position for a few days in shock, and then bouncing like a puppy on a non-chocolate sugar rush.

Speak of the canis, as we walked, a wolf appeared out of nowhere and my body moved on it's own- not literally, but it was almost as natural to me as breathing or putting my hands behind my back to stretch- and shot an arrow into the wolf's neck. The wolf staggered and growled, but another arrow fired onto his face as I shuddered.

"Bad doggie." I snarked a bit as I tore out the arrows and cut its neck, letting it die quickly and hopefully without much more pain. Raine coughed and I turned, "As we were saying?"

Raine picked up a book from her bag and started reading from it, "' Mana manipulation in the form of casting a spell depends solely on the mana signature of the caster. A caster with a stronger mana signature may cast more and stronger spells, while weaker mana signatures can only cast weaker or a lesser number. To put it simply, the mana signature has a direct, positive correlation with the spells that a caster can use. As one gets larger, so should the other.'" She closed the book with a thwump and added, "With a mana signature like yours, I would not attempt anything more than Techs, which almost anyone may cast, or First Aid at the moment. If you practice and train, you may be able to cast combat spells."

I nodded and a small rabbit hopped by and kicked me in the shin. Hard. "OW! Why you little!" I still had an arrow in my hand so I shoved it into the rabbit's back. "Well, that's some really good timing." I kicked the rabbit corpse once and pulled up the leg of my pants, seeing the bruise forming quickly with a sigh. "Ok, what do I do?"

Raine knelt down beside me and put my and over the bruise. "The best way to be in touch with mana is to focus on the emotions associated with it. Fire is rageful, Water is adaptive, Lightning is energetic, Ice is distant, Earth is rigid, and Wind is gentle. Light, Darkness, and Healing have a slight difference." She stood and rummaged through her pockets for a few seconds. "Light is associated with Hope and Optomism, Darkness with Despair and Pessimism, and Healing with Comfort."

I blinked and filed those three in the back of my mind. "So to heal..."

Raine smiled and said, "Think about either what comforts you, or what you believe would comfort the other person. For me, I think about sitting at home with a book or an ancient artifact, and my brother sleeping in the corner."

I cringed at the word Home and sighed. "All right then."

I closed my eyes and thought. My mind immediately went to a soft, gentle rain on my skin while I laid outside on the grass. I may be an electronic person, but nature was what soothed me. A mountian streem rushing beside me and the sounds of birds went through my ears. I always had a vivid imagination, but I can never put it into words. It almost seemed like I _was _there in the small clearing on a mountain. I felt rather than anything else a warm, calming glow around my leg and felt the ache of the bruise start fading.

"I understand." I opened my eyes as the green glow around my hand brightened. "First aid." In a flash, the bruise was gone.

"Very good." Raine smiled at me and helped me up.

"I had a good teacher." I complimented with a wink.

Raine laughed a little bit and we started walking again after she handed me a book. "Think of it as a loan from one Elf to another."

The book was, essentially, a book for a five year old elf about sensing mana. I read it quickly and it reminded me of a Dr. Seuss book.

_Some elves can see mana, a rainbow of light._

_Some elves can hear mana, a sound in the night._

_Some elves can smell mana, stinky or not_

_Some elves can feel mana, ice is cold, fire hot._

_Some elves can taste mana, bitter or sweet._

_But all elves can sense mana, isn't that neat!?_

I stared at the page and accompanied drawings to show exactly what each element was. "... You carry this around with you?"

"There's a younger elf in one of my classes in Iselia." She said, but something felt off about it. Almost as much as when she called herself an Elf.

"... How do you sense the difference between half-elves and elves?"

"The amount. Elves have much more mana than half-elves at the same age, and half-elves have more than humans or other races." She explained. "Elves and Half-elves often have more than two elements of mana in their signature to, and Humans and Dwarves, from my experience, tend to only have one or two."

"How can you sense mana? You only answered how to cast spells."

"Try and key into some part of the other person. For example, Naïveté is something I use for the younger students, and a few older ones." She grumbled the last part. "As for you, our quick conversation had shown me you were self-concious to a slight extreme, so that was an easy thing to use." She pushed a bit of her hair behind her own ear and I noticed that her points were much more defined than mine. "Why don't you try it, Mikael."

"Michael. Not Mikael." Archangel. Not the Russian/other european way of saying it. She raised an eyebrow while I thought about what to try.

_Let's see. From the game, I know she's unswervingly protective of Genis, but I don't know that now. If she asks, I'd have to be honest to her. From our conversation... Knowledgeable? No, that isn't really anything more than something to describe her. _I mentally grumbled and tilted my head. _Wait, if she's a healer and a teacher, along with how she's been treating me more like a child than anything else even if I am quite a bit taller,..._

Maternal- or whatever the word for sisterly affection. That's something to describe Raine perfectly.

I tried focusing on that, and a sensation washed over me coming from Raine. Almost like a gentle hug from a mother, talking to her young child about always looking forward. A small spark in her signature changed it to a defensive hug at a moment's notice

"Light and Healing. And... Water?" My brow furrowed at that last one. I was missing something.

"Very good Michael. You only missed the Earth mana in my signature." I opened my eyes to her kind smile and I smiled back. "You seem to be a natural at your elven side."

I shrugged and scratched my cheek, embarassed. "I'm good with emotions. That's really all there is to it." I tilted my head. "Say, what do you sense from me?"

Raine and I reached the temple as she looked at me.

"I see comfort flowing off of you like waves of an aurora." She takes a deep breath. "But a cloud of shadow overtaking a beacon in your heart. The shadow moves like a candle in the breeze, and small shoots of light shine brightly. Light, Healing, Darkness, and Wind are the elements that compose your mana." She frowns. "It's unusual. Normally if darkness is in someone's aura, it overwhelms everywhere else, but yours seems to empower the rest."

I cough and look away as we walk up the steps quickly. "Well." I stood there for a few seconds and closed my eyes.

A quote came to my mind and I said, "_A knight must not hide from the shadows in his own heart. He must use the shadows to realize the full extent of his inner light." _A pensive pause came between us and I sighed, opening my eyes in more way than one.

I took a deep breath and held my hand out towards the temple. "I've accompanied you, and I thank you for showing me how to use my abilities. I'll be out here for a little while."

Raine nodded at me and said, "I'll keep your secret of you keep mine." before walking in and speaking to one of the priests.

Right as she got out of eyeshot, I had a miniature panic attack and I grabbed my head as I slumped to the ground.

"Shit!" Emotional slot machine time. Of freaking course. Couldn't have picked a better Martel or other Sylvaranti holy being damned time. It happens after I calm down a little like that.

I guess I should explain as I write this out. Ever since I've cracked my head open at like five or so my emotions go haywire at random times. Once in the middle of a math exam the slot machine came up "Giddiness, embarrassment, and hyper-activity." and I ended up laughing and being sent out of the room mid test. It doesn't normally hurt me, but... Well, I think it's better to show you than tell you.

Mental clicking as the slots stopped, and then my palms were sweating, slipping along my bow until I wiped them. A black cloud went over my head, and worry went through my mind that I wouldn't be able to actually fight.

Perfect.

I climbed into a tree, carrying my items with me, as I watched the Renegades arrive and start yelling at one of the priesst. My teeth bit down on my thumb, shocking me, before I slipped an arrow into the bow, aiming quickly.

"_I understand."_ I whispered as a blast of wind flew behind me, speeding the arrow into one of the soldiers about to kill a pastor. The arrow lodged in the man's shoulder and he let out a scream of pain, causing me to twitch and almost drop my bow as my wrist flew to my mouth.

I just shot someone. I shook the thought out of my mind and shakily loaded another arrow. "I have to do this..." I let it fly, hitting another one of the soldiers as they looked for the origin. I hopped between a few of the trees as quietly as I could, sniping at them every once in a while and trying to distract them. Don't let them kill people. Don't think about it. You're defending, not killing. Some of my arrows were missing, but that's fine. Distract, don't attack. I kept trying to reason with myself, and whenever my arrows fired, it was all I could do not beat myself up when they hit their target.

I fired one more arrow for good measure as Lloyd, Colette, and Genis appeared from the staircase and the Renegades finally pinpointed me- The temple was surrounded by trees and all of the Renegades were in the clearing of the temple. I hopped down the tree and fixed a cold glare on my face, no matter how afraid I was. "You Desians will not dare lay one hand on these people." I looked at the three and yelled, "Run!"

"Desians?" One of them said, before laughing as the three, rather than running, pulled out their weapons.

Recogntiion flashed in one of their eyes and they spoke quietly to Botta.

"This isn't a place for children." I hissed out, standing in front of the three. "Go before they start attacking you."

Colette said, "You can't fight all five of them by yourself."

"I was." I spat at her, a little annoyed at her lack of self-protective instincts.

"Well, we'll help you at least." Lloyd said, as Genis yelled out his line to the Renegades.

"Die at the hands of the Desians you so hate. Get them!" The laughing Renegade said, before the others pulled out whips or something.

I sighed, saying, "Be careful." To the group and using one of my arrows as a dagger. Yes, that's wierd and yes, it means an archer went into the front lines, but in all honesty Colette and Lloyd on the front lines is freaking dangerous. I mostly danced around the whips and cut at tendons- Biology class for the win. It worked well enough. I only got stung by the attacks on my face and my armor deflected the rest- even with the blades on the ends of the whips. After one cut me I fell back beside Genis, and pulled out my bow as I cast first aid. Just in case this counted as the first Boss.

The green glow closed the wound on my elbow and a quick fire of my arrow got one of the Renegades to flee down the stairs, five arrow heads imbedded in his back. What I didn't expect as I smiled at him fleeing more than anything else was a huge metallic kendama ball slamming into my side and sending me flying into the temple. A loud yell of pain escaped my mouth as I coughed up a bit of blood from a small crater in the temple.

"Dammit. Fuck. Shit." I coughed more and another First aid passed over me, closing the wound threatening to make me choke. Wait. I Didn't cast that.

My eyes moved up and a certian spiky haired mercenary was standing in front of the three Sylvarantis and glaring up at the one who slammed the mace into me. A combination of excitement and agony washed through me and I blacked out.

**Mike: All right. I'm not sure if Raine was in character, and the focus on me in the battle is mostly because you can't really be distracted in a fight.**

**Logan: Thank you for reading!**

**Mike: Please leave a review. I want to know what you guys reading this think!  
**


	3. Etiquette Lesson by Mister Merc

**Mike: Thanks to everyone who's read my story. I hope you like the chapter.**

_Title: Traveler. Wether from Triet to Iselia, or from one world to another, this boy goes the distance._

_Title gained: Protector. Diving into the fray even at a disadvantage. Up attack and int, down accuracy._

_Title gained: Fallen. Defeated in battle, but willing to fight again. Up defense and HP, down evasion._

"Add insult to injury why don't you." I grumbled as I regained consciousness and sat up, rubbing the back of my head in dis-

Wait. I opened my eyes and looked myself over. I was in a pool of blood, but no visible wounds were on me. Someone must have healed me while I was unconscious. I wiped some dried blood from my forehead felt a scar across my cheeks and nose forming. Okay, fine Demise and Birth. You want me to look like my self insert, right?

...

No answer, of course. I don't know why I expected something. I don't know how a mace caused a scar across my face, but hey. I'm going to get a whole lot more of the scars from weirder places.

I checked and saw the others talking to Phaidra and got up shakily, collecting my arrows as I listened in. The blood was gross, but I could still use the arrows perfectly fine.

"Lloyd? ...I would be uneasy with just you." I cringed at some stupid sore spot in my arm and swore as I cast a first aid. Genis's eyes shot over to me and his jaw dropped a bit as I fit my beret back over my ear.

"Your name is Lloyd?" Kratos asked after a slight silence. I finished collecting my arrows in my quiver, wiping them on the grass and counting once I got beside the group. 24 arrows. I started with forty so the Renegades must have taken some of them with them. Or they broke.

"Yeah, but who are you to ask for my name?"

I responded for Kratos and thwacked Lloyd in the head. "He's the guy who had to save all of our respective butts, Lloyden." I snapped, "And I think you should be thanking him more than snarking."

"It's just Lloyd." Said twin swordsman snipped.

"Don't care, Lloyden. I suck at names, and I mean that to the greatest possible meaning since I forget names of people within ten seconds, so nicknames will have to do." I crossed my arms and glared down at him, to the full extent a six-three guy could glare at someone five-nine or so. While sitting down. Don't ask me how I hit his head from here- Okay, since you probably will, I grabbed a scabbard one of the Renegades left behind. "I told you to run."

"I didn't want to." He responded with a shrug and I smacked him on the back of his head again. "Hey!"

"Terrible decision in hindsight, don'tcha think?" I saw a few cuts and a huge bruise on his side- His jacket and shirt torn open enough to see that- and went to heal him. Kratos's hand smacked mine away and did it.

"You are currently weak. Don't try and exert yourself."

Kratos glared at me and I saluted mockingly, with a "Sir, yes Sir." You just want to heal the guy you think is your son.

"I am Kratos, a mercenary." He turned to Phaidra and added, "As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding the Chosen."

I yawned and cleaned my arrows some more as Phaidra thought for a few seconds. "...Under the circumstances, I have little choice. Please be of service."

"It's a deal, then." Kratos turned to Colette and nodded towards the temple. Lloyd stood in front of them and shakily said, "W...wait! I'm going, too!"

... Shakily? The difference hit me and I payed a bit more attention. Lloyd's legs were shaking and his body was rigid, like he was trying to appear strong even if he wasn't.

"Lloyd, you'll only get in the way. Be a good boy and wait here." Kratos put his hand on Lloyd's shoulder, moving him to the side gently and, unless I was hearing something, Kratos had a paternal undertone to the voice.

"What did you say!?" Lloyd snipped at him, not noticing the tone if it was there, and Kratos snapped back. Lloyd glared at him as Kratos and Colette spoke quietly and quickly.

"He said you'd be in the way." I repeated, rubbing at my temple. For some reason, that slam must have knocked me unwilling to deal with this stuff. As I stood I became aware that I'm not englishing well. Great.

"It's weird though. Did he have to grab my shoulder?" He made a face in confusion and turned to me. "And thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank him. And you were literally in his way, Lloyden." I shrugged. " He needed to move ya. Like this." I pushed him to the side gently myself and picked up my wallet and money purse before turning around. "And sorry about being snippy. Waking up after getting brained by a massive mace can do that to ya."

"It's okay." Lloyd frowned as Colette ran over happily.

"Mr. Kratos said you could come since I get nevous with out you!" I went aw mentally but turned to Genis.

"Lloyden always this dense? I think it's obvious from that the blond has a crush on him."

"Colette. and Yeah. My name's Genis by the way before you say anything."

"Mike, Nissy." Genis stared. "Nicknames stick more than actual names. If you have something else-"

"If you really can't remember names, call me Gene." He replied

Lloyd grinned and shot a fist into the air. "All right! You coming too Genis?"

Kratos face-palmed and called back, "This isn't a field trip, you know." as Genis responded with a shocked, "Who me?"

"No, me." I remarked and case a quick healing spell.

Lloyd turned to me and asked, "You want to come to?"

Kratos put a hand back to his head and responded, "Did you even listen to what I said?"

"Doesn't seem like it." I respond for him and Kratos looked at me with a confused expression. Or as confused as Stoic dude can look. I tapped my chin and actually _weighed my options_ rather than just rushing in like Lloyd. If I go in, I lose the time to prepare for the Marble fight. If I go back to Iselia, I lose the chance to get to know Lloyd and Genis before going on the excursion.

Yes, I am aware that not many people do this, but I take- er, took- Microeconomics and learned about this sort of thing. Opprotunity cost and comparative advantage and things like that. Good for everyday life too. I lose the more valuable thing when I head back, so I'll go.

I shrugged. "Someone has to protect the squishy mage, important Klutz, and idiot swordsman. Even if Awesome Swordsman could do it with his hands tied behind his back." All three of them responded with a "Hey!" before I laughed and said, "I kid children. About the nicknames. Not about the protecting thing."

Ignoring my oddity as best as they could. Lloyd turned a bit pink and thanked Colette, and she turned pink in response saying, "It's true."

And I dawed, causing Lloyd to hit me over the head with his sword. I glared, grabbed the blade and turned it. "Flat end. Use the blade or else this is a club."

"I don't want to hurt people right now. If I'm in a fight, I'll use the actual blade."

We quickly rushed in behind Kratos and I looked around. The building smelt of dust and mold, making me sneeze a few times before I saw the huge locked door ahead of us. "Welp. Roundabout dungeon adventure time go" I sighed. "First rule of adventurers. If the path should be easy and right in front of you, chances are you need to head to the farthest corner of the place before hand."

Kratos responded, "Actually the first rule of adventuring, according to a manual written centuries ago, is 'When you enter a dungeon, temple, cavern, or something similar, search inside every nook and cranny to locate items left by people traveling in it previously." He fiddled in his bag and tossed me a book as I stared. I did NOT expect Kratos to make that sort of joke, but then again, the book actually does have rules and stuff and was written by one Yuan Kafei. So yeah. Not an actual joke here.

"So this is what the inside of the temple is like."

"Colette, you've been in here many times, right?" Genis muttered in awe as he looked around.

"Yeah, but it seems different than usual." Colette's eyes caught a large spider- not a monster, but still large- and she hid behind Lloyd.

Kratos just looked ahead and said,"I sense the presence of monsters. Don't let your guard down." I stared at my bow and had an arrow in hand. Ready.

"We can handle a few measly monsters. Let's go." Lloyd started walking but Kratos grabbed onto the white ribbons hanging from Lloyd's jacket and stopped him.

"Wait. Lloyd...are your sword techniques self-taught?"

"Yeah. That's right." Lloyd paused as Kratos pulled another manual from his bag and handed it to Lloyd."What is this thing?"

"A book." I snarked, a little bit of a headache forming.

"If you are going to use a sword, then at least learn the basics. You want to protect the Chosen, don't you?"

"Humph! You think you know so much!" Lloyd glared. "You don't know how to use two blades."

I raised my hand. "Actually, you could argue you are using two _clubs._ You seemed to hit the guys outside the temple with the flat side of your blade more than the blade, probably because you're used to training with the flat side, am I right?"

Lloyd grumbled unintelligibly and I cringed, "Dammit, that sounded arrogant didn't it?"

Genis bluntly told me, "It kind of did." and I slammed my hand into my forehead so hard, my thumbnail cut into my skin. yes even though I was wearing archer's gloves. Don't ask me how that worked out.

Kratos turned to me as I cast a first aid on the cut- cheaper than using a gel- and said, "I don't believe I'm wrong, but you are not used to larger groups, correct?"

"Ya thi-" Slamming my hand over my mouth, I signed, "sorry" to him. "What I mean to say is, not in the slightest."

"Think about what your role is in a team of combatants." Kratos's eyes bored into mine and I suddenly felt like I was ten looking up at my father. "If you are a friend of the team, you can joke around as much as you like, and if you are simply accompanying them, angering or antagonizing them is not recommended. If you wish to be considered a protector, you must keep that mindset at all times." His voice was quiet and severe, and I think I was the only one who was listening to him. "The same goes for any sort of social event. If you are with close companions alone, sarcastic remarks and jokes such as that are accepted, but if you are with people you barely know-" He gestured at the three and himself. "-Try to be more respectful."

I stared at him, lowering my hand, and muttered, "I think I have a lot to learn."

Kratos nodded and turned around. "Onto where you should be in battle; you are an archer and a spell-caster, so I would recommend standing beside Genis and using your bow to fend of attackers, using your own magic when all of the opponents are distracted. Your tactic of leaping into the fray with an arrow as a dagger only resulted in you getting yourself hurt and being unable to protect them." I made use of my long legs and walked beside him as he continued quickly with a hand on his blade. "From what I saw- the aftermath of your fight with them- you appear to excel at-"

I coughed and said, "Do you have to be so formal?"

He glared and I looked away as he continued, "-Techniques where you fire off many arrows at once."

Genis, who made me jump by appearing on the other side of me, said, "Actually I think he's better at stealth. He was in the trees when we arrived and the Desians were all confused and looking around."

Kratos turned to me and said, "I'm shocked that someone as noticeable as you could surprise so many enemies."

I shrugged, hunching over a bit more and muttering, "I'm good at making myself seem invisible." More I'm good at hiding from people's watching eyes. We walked in relative silence- and by that I mean me and Kratos were quiet, the others were chattering away about the temple and other stuff- until we came across... Stairs.

"I thought you said there were monsters?" Lloyd looked around and down the stairs a bit, leaning as far as he could without falling to try and see the bottom.

"There should be." Kratos mumbled and I notched an arrow.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Genis groaned as the elf, blond, and half-angel pulled out their own weapons. Kratos and Lloyd went down the stairs first, Colette second with her two chakrams primed to get thrown, and Genis and I in back. The two swordsmen peeked out of the bottom and Kratos's hand clenched his blade.

"It appears..." Kratos unsheathed his sword and I could tell his tone was anticipatory. "That we have company."

Lloyd muttered, "What is that thing?" and when i peeked I felt bile going up my throat. Right there in front of me was a creature about eight feet tall, green and chrystiline with bright blue veins running all along its body, the clothes looked like a renegade suit of armor and on the far side of the room was a dead body wearing pastor's clothes.

**Mike: Bad cliffhanger, but I want to devote the next chapter to try and make a good battle sequence.**


	4. Trips and Falls and the Manic Calls

**Well this is annoying, my chapter was deleted when I was almost done. Great. Well, that's what I get for not paying attention to my things.**

**As an added bonus, my game disk currently is so touchy that it won't start unless I put in disk two first, go past the opening cut scene, and load the game before putting the first disc in. Dammit.**

**All right, enough ranting. I want to say thanks to those of you who've reviewed and to go back to the scene. I know I wanted a whole chapter of fighting, but I don't feel like redoing the scene, and even then this chapter is much shorter than normal because I got pissed at myself for not saving it.  
**

** classic-bow catalog/ images/ 114_ recurve_ bow. jpg**

**That above is essentially what Mike's bow looks like. And sorry for the wait.  
**

Acid tried to make it's way into my throat, but I held it back. "Wh-why is that in here!?" I shivered as a flash of a little boy being the one transformed went through my mind. W- Oh god that's...

The clothing size torn on the ground didn't fit an adult. The size was more for a young teen...

I stepped back, and the others pulled their weapons on the Exubla. I so wanted to tell them not to fight it. That it was a boy transformed. That I knew a way to fix him, but my mouth wouldn't move. Words flashed in my head but nothing would come out. Instead I just stood at the back while the others fought the boy, my bow dangling below me.

Llloyd rushed in first, and immediately got swung back by a fist of the morphed boy, slamming into the wall beside me. His sword flew out of his hand, almost hitting me in the guy before I caught it. My bow and arrow clattered to the ground, and the noise knocked me out of my reverie.

Put the boy out of his misery. That's all I can do without having him hidden away for a long time. I don't even need to tell them anything. I grabbed Lloyd's blade in my hand and rushed forward, not caring that I was holding it more like Emil from the sequel, and slashed at the Exubla.

A part of my mind started muttering a spell as I leaped away. Kratos glared at the monster with gritted teeth as Genis and Colette used their own skills and I tossed Lloyd his blade. "Sorry."

"'s fine." He seemed a little distracted but I fired off an arrow at the exubla as I spun another out of my quiver.

"You gotta focus." He fired off a couple demon fangs while we spoke and I used my arrows between spells. "What's wrong?"

He paused. "Something about this thing is bugging me."

"Well, he looks pained. We need to put him out of his misery." I fired off a Quick Shot into the Exubla's shoulder Colette sent a chakram into the wound, followed by a few stones from Genis and quite a few slices from Kratos. It out a cry of pain and I said, "Nothing should be turned into this." under my breath before firing an arrow. I used a lot of mana to alter the arrow's path and called out. "CRITICAL SHOT!" as the arrow landed in the boy's eye, dealling a lot of damage. I fired a second one, and a third, depleting the last of my mana and grabbing my head from the over-usage. The three arrows didn't even phase him, dammit. The others easily dealt with him and I sat on the side of the stairs, restoring mana with an orange gel, as they left the Exubla and went ahead for the Sorcerer's ring.

I glanced their way, seeing no one in sight, and walked slowly to the boy, putting a hand on his head. The Exubla shuddered and I softly shushed him. "It's okay... It's almost over. You don't have to hurt anymore."

A voice played in my head, younger than I thought. "I-It hurts."

I mumbled back, "It's all right... I'm sorry you're hurt but its almost done." I let a few tears fall as the voice got fainter and fainter. I hummed a little with a hand on the boys head and sang softly, helping myself just as much as him. Once his voice fully faded, I stood and closed my eyes.

I made a cross, followed by a pentacle, followed by a holy symbol for Martelism that Collette had done over the priest's body. I asked whatever holy being was listening to take care of the boy's soul. A little bit of searching found the exsphere, torn from his body, and I slipped it into my pocket.

When I turned, Kratos was there. His eyes were wider than normal but still restrained. The others weren't right behind him, but they were within earshot. I put a finger to my lips, pleadingly and whispered, "I'll tell you later." before they came.

The three kids were giddily playing with the sorcerer's ring, but I mostly ignored them as I stared at the stairs. I grabbed my bow and arrows and headed upstairs, calling back to the others with, "Ya comin?"

Kratos was right by my side instantly, and whispered, "Why were you treating that thing like a child?"

I glanced back, seeing the kids tagging behind and replied, "B... Because I know what that creature was." I kept my voice quiet. "I-I'd rather not talk now."

"There might not be another time." He was glaring, but it didn't have the full extent.

I chuckled darkly, "Trust me. I can forsee us being the best of friends in the future." I smiled slightly and he sighed.

"... On a more serious note, when do you plan on talking with me."

I glanced back, again, and shortly said, "Tonight." before stopping and allowing the other three to catch up.

Heading back to the locked door was quick, but Colette seemed intent on getting me to talk. "Mr. Michael, why don't you tell as about yourself?"

I twitched. "Just Michael. Calling me mister makes me feel older than I am." I stuck my tongue out and adjusted my gloves.

"Oh... Why do you have your name?" She asked innocently, and I almost froze. Michael has religious connotations. Dammit.

I chuckled a bit, pushing my darker thoughts to the back of my mind. "Like it? Or are you asking because of the meaning?"

She avoided my eyes, Genis raised an eyebrow, Lloyd stared at me, and Kratos didn't do anything."W-well."

I waved it off and laughed. "It's fine, It's fine. Weird for someone who ain't religious to have a name that means, "Who resembles God?"." I shrugged. "It's just a name my parents chose for me."

"That name hasn't been heard of since before Mithos's days, though. How did they hear of it?"Genis quieried. I think that's the right word.

I shrugged. "Hey, my family's always had odd names." True story. "But that's the end of this topic." I went back to fidgiting with my clothes as the three kids shared a glance.

"How old are you."

"Fifty-four thousand three hundred and twenty-seven." I said without missing a beat and they just gawked. "What?" I raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "I take good care of myself and eat my veggies."

That did it. The trio all burst into various states of giggle fits and I just smiled slightly. Kratos broke the laughter with a repeat of the question and shrugged. "Older than I act but younger than I look."

He gave an exasperated sigh, and I shot the same question back at him. "Twenty-eight."

"Huh. Under a decade older than me." I blinked. It is _really _freaky to consider that he's only physically that age.

"Michael?" I looked to Genis. "Why are you acting like a kid?"

I fiddled with my hat and said, "It keeps me sane." The confused look from all for made me sigh. "I lost my innocence, metaphorically, as a child because I had to grow up early, so I'm making up for lost time. I never got to be a kid at age five, so at age eighteen..." I shrugged.

Lloyd did a double take. "You're eighteen and calling me a child?"

"It's not the age, but the mileage Lloyd." I smiled. "How far from Iselia have you traveled?"

He looked to the side and admitted, "Not far."

"Yes and I'm very far from home, and I've gone through a lot more things in my life than you, Lloyd." I tried to imitate Kratos's stern tone and said, "What I've been through that made me grow up early is also the same reason I come across as more mature than my age lets on when I wish." That grammar was bad, but it worked. "When you've had as many wounds opened as I have, then you start learning ways to try and keep from having more. Wether it's putting on faux maturity, or acting like a child."

I frowned as the conversation died out. "Dammit I can't talk to people."

"It was just the topic." Colette said. "Maybe if you think of something nicer?"

"Yeah." Lloyd thought and those two brain cells in his head seemed to click- Sorry. Sorry. He has more than two.- "What are you anyway?" Lloyd asked. "A mercenary?"

"Traveler." I replied. While talking to Raine I had fleshed out a lot of what I said. "From Luin originally, but I left there when I was nine and my parents both... Well I don't know exactly. They just disappeared one day. I left mostly because while I loved Luin, I didn't really like the idea of being in an orphanage. Stories my mom made." I explained with a shrug. "So I borrowed a bow and quiver from someone and left, a family finding me right before something killed me and took care of me. They traveled around for a while and one of the guys, Obli, helped me learn how to use this guy." I turned my bow in my hand. "And we seperated about three months ago. I was in Triet for a while and came up here once I heard about someone."

"The Chosen, right?" Lloyed asked before using the ring on the sealed door. It gave a nice shattering effect and a couple of "Plink" sounds as the mana-y glass hit the ground.

"No actually." I glanced behind me and said, "She's somewhere in here right now so I'm going to go look. Thank you for letting me help you guys." I bowed a little and turned, headding down the hallway we didn't go through with a wave behind me.

There was no way in Yggdrasial's disco den that I was going to- and of course I literally trip over Raine. My arrows scattered as my foot caught on her staff and I faceplanted. "Dammit, if this happens even one more time, I'm trading my arrows and bow for a freaking Zwinhander or a Claymore or something like he said!" I hopped up, grumbling.

"Oh! Are you all right-" She turned, the gleam in her eyes disappearing. "It's you." She pulled me up and dusted me off a little, before helping me collect my arrows. "What are you doing inside of the temple?"

I simply said, "I helped some people outside the temple and they offered to take me deeper in since they were going there." I shrugged as her hand froze over an arrow.

"Could you describe the for me."

"Sure." I grabbed an arrow and twirled it. "One was stoic and wore purple..." She seemed to relax a bit, but that didn't last long. "Another was blonde and very nice, a third wore red and was a bit childish, and the last was an elf." Raine's hand clenched and she glared down the hallway. "Oh, you know them?"

"All of them except the first one, yes."

"They're nice." I blinked innocently. "Why are you angry?"

"Because I distinctly told them all not to come to the temple." She stood up and I grabbed my quiver, put my bow on my back, and walked to the main area with her folowing. Luckily I paused when I saw Lloyd and Genis, hiding in a shadow as the scene played out exactly like it did in the game.

I sighed, rubbing my temple as Lloyd and Genis rather quickly ran from the... Temple. Wow that's a poor choice of words. I tilted my head, seeing me and Raine were alone. Hm... Ruin mode, or travelling alone...

Ruin mode.

I moved up to her and started asking about some of the things I saw around, and she spent a good portion of an hour gushing over them. Well, maybe not gushing, but she did seem to mix ruin mode with teaching and it was actually interesting. Her enthusiasm was evident in her choice of words. The 'extravegant' architecture, the 'wonderous' angelic runes carefully carved with precision into every wall...

I analyze people sometimes by their words, I admit. Like people who use shorter words and don't use long sentences tend to either be less patient or not very outgoing people. Raine's word choice obviously showed just how smart she was, and-

I don't think anyone reading this wants to hear me describe everything, so I'll get back to your story.

We started walking back to the town and just started talking about stupid things on my end. I tried to flesh out my story a little and made it natural. I mentioned my clumsiness and how I might get a second weapon in case I drop my arrows in the middle of battle, and talked about the 'caravan and the family that took me in', even going so far as to use some of my real friends as a baseline.

Reaching town was uneventful, and I yawned a little. I waved Raine off and walked over to the item shop, happy... Dammit I forgot her name. Happy the shopkeep lady is also the inkeeper. I yawned and passed out, but that night, I woke up to a blade pressed up to my neck and a purple mercenary over my bed.

"... Fuck."


	5. Michael, you've got some explainin' to d

**Sorry for the delay, I've been lacking in inspiration since school's been...**

**Worrying more about classes than my stories right now. Also I was hit by inspiration for another thing. Sorry again.**

**Also, if any of you have read my Darkest Desires, I lost all the data I had written. I remember some of it (Mostly characters and a couple ideas), but I lost the doc with everything specific. It sort of made me angry and I lost the drive to write. I'm working on school too, and other things... I won't be able to do any 'once a month' updates, but I'll try to get an update as often as I can.**

**I am SO glad I ran a lot of it by someone, though, or I'd want to drop it completely. Ok, enough ranting about a different story. I am REALLY sorry it took so long to update.**

The blade on my neck was cold, but something was... warm. D-did he actually cut me? I lightly tapped my neck and pulled it away, seeing a small trickle of blood on my finger. "Is that any way to wake someone up?" I bitterly thought of home and healed my neck, lightly pushing the blade away with a single finger.

"I did not intend to actually harm you, but you hadn't woken up." Liar. The mercenary pulled a small wrapped thing from his bag as I sat up, grabbing my bow and restringing it. "Don't take your weapon."

I continued restringing it. "I'm not going to go anywhere without-" A soft thud on the bed beside me caused me to glance over at him. He nodded at the cloth on my bed and walked out. I, reluctantly, put down my bow and pulled the cloth off the small dagger.

Huh. Nice of him. I stood, grabbing an arrow and twirling it around like a baton on my way out. Kratos was standing at the gate and I noticed that it wasn't even dawn yet. That, or he just woke me up in the middle of the night, but I'd be more surprised if he didn't get me right before dawn to get an alabi for the night. "..." I walked right past him, holding the dagger and arrow like twin blades, and started slashing and stabbing. My movements were still stiff, but- "You're dancing."

I paused, "What?"

"You're using your weapons more like a dancer, than a swordsman."

"Well, I suck at dancing, but thanks for the note. How should I fix that?"

Kratos glanced at my form, I twirled around and sliced at an imaginary Yggdrasial and crouched. "There is a style of sword-fighting similar to what you are doing. It's best to go with what you feel is best suited for your motions, and I have not seen enough of your swordplay to give advice. However, that is not what I came here for."

I continued slashing at the air, starting to play a tune in my head with each slice of the blade at the drumbeat. Da-da-da-da-da-dum-da-da-dum. Kratos unsheathed his blade, and stood in front of me, pointing it. "Good idea. Why don't you help me train and I'll tell you what you want to hear. Just know this- there are some things I can't tell you until I know I can trust you."

Kratos dashed at me, slower than he had in the temple against the Exubla and his sword clanged against my dagger. "Hmph. Fine. First, how do you know about Exublas?"

"That's the name?" I spun around, aiming for his neck but he lifted his sheild before I could land a blow and knocked the arrow aside. He went for my legs but I did a little flip, thank Birth and Demise for my Exsphere, and rolled over to it. "I just knew it was once a humanoid."

"-oid?" Kratos moved to casting a spell while I was distracted and I did the same. "What do you mean by that? Fireball!"

"Shine!" A burst of light caught one of the orbs he sent, but the other two caught against my hoodie. I brushed off the embers, cussing as he put his blade against my neck, feeling a bit of blood where he cut me slightly. "Point to you, Aurion. I don't know if they're Humans, half-elves, or elves. I just know they're some humanoid being that had their exsphere torn off, due to experience." I held up mine. "Killing someone you love really sucks." Kratos paused and that was just enough time. I swept my legs against his, but his stance just made my leg clang against his armor, hurting me more. "Shit- ow." Kratos kicked me away and held me down with a foot and a blade. "Again, point. Ow..."

"Distractions?" The seraph asked, holding a hand out to help me up. I brushed off my clothes and nodded.

"I'm never straight-forward, so my fighting style has the same distinction. Next question?" I picked up my arrow, spinning it in my hand and glancing at him.

He fired off a quick wind blade and I had to dance out of the way of the air. "Your name."

"Michael?" I yelped, trying to dodge the barrage of spells he fired at me, faster and faster until it simply became a barage of stones and flames. He stopped, and I panted, cringing. "OW!"

" Yes, your name is, simply put, non-existent. Especially that meaning, as Martel is a 'goddess'." I started casting a quick first aid and sighed.

"So, I'm not a Martelist, and my parents follow a religion from befor-"

"Those were quickly eradicated."

I rolled my eyes and cast a couple more First Aids, imagining the click of laptop keyboards. "Not well, it seems. I'm evidence of that." The clicks continued as I had to dodge another spell of Kratos's.

"You're lying. The only reason I know of it is a single book inside the Tower of Mana speaking of your name, and it's meaning. The library has been closed since before _I _was born."

"That's how long there's been monsters in there?" I blinked in confusion and got hit by another spell, squeaking out a First Aid again. Something was clicking in my head, not just laptop keys. "Like I said- every sign wasn't eradicated. My name's been passed down in my family!" Kratos stopped, and I cast another heal, a small pulsing in my forehead appearing. "Dammit, Kratos, I think I've cast first aid like thirty times in this training."

Kratos's blade slipped into my side and I coughed, looking down at the wound he dealt me. His blade pulled out with a sick noise and he cleaned it off on the grass while I tried a few more healing spells. My head started getting dizzy from the mana and blood loss.

"Wh-"

Kratos slashed at me again, and I tried to step back, staring at him in shock. "You're not trustworthy in the slightest. You're lying through your teeth.'

"I haven't lied!" My head was aching and blodd was barely held back by my constant first aids. I staggered a bit, and fell to the ground. His blade rested on my neck.

"Give me one good reason I should trust you."

My vision blurred a bit and I panted, starting to pass out. I don't remember what I said, but a gentle warmth covered me and I felt my skin knitting together before I lost my consciousness.

* * *

I woke up about ten o'clock, if the woman in the item shop was correct, and it was a good five or six hours after Kratos and I had the little one sided- almost killing of me. The only reason I knew it was real was the large scar on the side of my stomach, and the green thread that fixed my shirt together. I grabbed my bow, bought about five daggers with the gald I had and a couple other weapons for when I reached Triet, attached them to my waist and lower legs, and started walking south.

My bow was stringed and I made sure to have it and an arrow ready on the off chance someone tried to attack me, but remarkably I didn't see anything on my way south. I did catch sight of a couple dead wolves and eagles with sword and chakram wounds, but nothing jumped out at me, myself.

Noon was lunchtime and I, well... I looked to the north. I couldn't stop Iselia from burning, even if I tried. There was no chance I could defeat the Desians myself and give the people in the town enough time to escape. That was how I rationalized abandoning Iselia, and a weight rested in my gut.

The amulet shined and I lightly grabbed it, twitching as the number moved around a bit.

_25. Failed keeping your identity secret. Failed using Quick Shot and First Aid against the first boss. Current task: Reunite the Prince and the Maiden._

_Task: Your heart it aches with Apathy,  
But join the heroine's journey. No time limit, 1 point._

I groaned and grabbed my head. I did not want to have to deal with seeing Kratos so soon. Then again...

How to reunite Lloyd and Colette... I'll just help the jailbreak from the renegade base spending time in Triet until then.

Walking. More walking...

"Gah!" I yelled out, startling some birds in the trees. "I HATE BEING ALONE!" I kicked some dirt and pulled an arrow out of my quiver. I aimed at a tree far away and fired, going extremely wide in my agitation.

My mind wouldn't stop wandering to everything from archery, swordplay, and the future of Slyvarant to thinking about snark against Zelos, and it scared me every time I started to think about home. If I dwell on it long enough...

My heart clenched in my chest and I grabbed at my locket, flipping it open to see a picture of my family, smiling and laughing together. "... Birth? Demise?" I called out to the sky, half curious and half trying to distract myself. "..."

I sighed and took a step forward, into a floating scroll that smacked into my face. I jumped back, pulling out a dagger before sighing in relief. "Thank you." I opened the scroll with the dagger, noticing the Yin-Yang symbol that had sealed it.

_Michael,_

_We won't respond to all of your questions, in fact most of them we won't answer at all, however every once in a while we'll message you for your sake more than anything._

_Mike,_

_Attached is a book of Dagger and Bow skills free of charge. _

_-Demise and Birth_

The scroll disappeared in a white flame, shocking me and making me drop it. The flame hit the ground and turned into a thin, spiral bound notebook. I glanced at the first page and saw "Dagger Throw" and "Stealth Shot" as the next skills for me to learn. "Well, this is helpful."

I heard a sound of a sword being unsheathed from fabric and turned to the woods off to the side of my path. I slipped the book into my bag and ran that way, bow prepped and ready to shoot. I hid behind a tree and peaked around, seeing...

"Lloyd and Genis?" I quietly mumbled. "Unless they're a lot faster..." I shook my head and aimed around the tree at the wolves they were fighting, firing an arrow into the smallest one's side. I quickly fired a few more into the fray, killing one just as Genis blasted the largest- the alpha?- with a wind blade. I walked up to the two after the wolves scattered. "Hey..."

The two boys looked tired and exhausted, but they seemed perfectly fine physically. I cleaned a couple of my arrows on the ground. "Hello, Michael."

"Hey."

I glanced at them both, slipping my arrows into my quiver in silence. "Heading for Triet?" Genis nodded. "I'll accompany you. I'm heading the same way."

"Thanks."

"Sure."

I sighed. This isn't much better than being alone, but at least they're people more than my own thoughts. We walked for a little bit, coming across a house of salvation close to sundown after a mostly silent time.

Lloyd and Genis sat in the main room, and I stood at the altar. I glanced at the statue of Spiritua that rested behind the Priest/Cleric there, and asked a few questions about Martelism.

Generally, it was the same as Christianity, it seems, although Martel was both the stand in for God and Jesus. Sadly, the biggest and most troubling difference was the idea of Self-sacrifice. It was evident in both the Chosen's journey, and just how gaunt and malnourished the clergy here was. All of them wore large, billowing robes, but... looking at their faces and hands, they seemed not to be anything but skin and bones.

I went back to Lloyd and Genis, glancing between them and seeing just how much effort it took them to even look at me. "... Let's rest for the day, guys." I put my hand on both of their shoulders. "You look like you've been through a lot today, and we should reach Triet midday tomorrow if we get out early." Thank you random traveler. "So... Go sleep guys."

Both of them moved rigidly up the stairs and I clenched my fist. _I can't do anything to help them, can I? GAH! _I punched my arm in aggravation, running out and using a tree on the other side of the clearing as target practice, imagining Forcystus for pulling out Marble's exsphere, and Mithos for being the one to-

"You're dancing again." I yelped turning and aiming my bow at the man behind me, freezing solid.

"W-what are you doing here, Kratos?"

Colette, Raine, and Kratos were right behind me, and I had my arrow pointed at the swordsman's neck. He lightly pushed my shaking bow away and said, "We're on our way to Triet..."

"What are _you _doing here Michael?" Raine looked at me, half concerned and half suspicious.

"Same as you, but I'm accompanying a few others. I'm surprised you guys got here after me. Did you get held up by some monsters?" I was staring at Kratos still, shaking a bit.

"Yes. Some wolves had chased us into the forest and it was harder to defeat them then we thought. They wouldn't stop coming after us so..." Colette trailed off, looking down at the ground.

"It sounds like it was kill or be killed. I really hate that feeling." I responded, soothingly- or at least tried. My teeth were chattering as I spoke and I shook my head. "W-well, are you staying here?"

"No. If we rush, we can reach Triet by nightfall."

I nod, looking back into the House. "Is something wrong?" The two girls said, in sync.

"Ah, well... My companions are a little bit pre-occupied with something that happened earlier, I think. We're resting for the day, but I'm training a bit more."

"You did need it earlier." Kratos remarked and I blinked. He... "When we fought you got severely injured. You're lucky that you had been healed before you had gone unconcious."

I laughed a bit awkwardly and stuck my tongue out at him. "Not my fault you decided to 'fight to the very severe wound.'" Kratos turned away from me and I felt relief wash over me.

Raine glared at Kratos as he responded. "It was better to fight at full capacity then to hold back. An enemy takes advantage of your weaknesses, and I did just that. I healed you afterwards, though."

Collette gasped and pulled my shirt up, looking at the scar as I made a noise of protest. "Oh, that looks really bad. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, Colette." I patted her head and backed away. "Thank you again, Kratos." Thank you for not killing me.

Raine looked at the sky, only now did I notice that she never stopped biting her lip. Huh. "I want to buy a few gels before we head back, if you don't mind Kratos."

"Hmph." Kratos nodded at her, and I pointed Colette at the puppy over to the side. Leaving myself alone with Kratos again. I really suck at this 'I don't want to see him' thing. I took a couple deep, shaky bre- "I didn't heal you." I blinked. "I fully intended to let you die, but you whispered out a spell and healed yourself before bleeding out, then someone- a woman from the inn, found you before I could finish."

"S-so..." His implication hit me like a brick. "... You still want me dead."

"You're still a hinde-"

"Fire seal, water seal, Wind seal, Light seal." I said from memory. "Colette must reach each temple, pray there, and go through the motions to become an angel, finally reaching the Tower of Salvation." I closed my eyes. "I have no intentions of stopping Collete from reaching the tower, and I doubt that if I did, I would be able to stop her from wanting to save Sylvarant. I may be an unknown factor, but I'm not going to stop what's supposed to happen from happening."

"Hmpf. That's simply words." Kratos's tone proved otherwise though. It was slightly less... Reserved? "I'll hold you to them though. One instance where you seem to be attempting to hinder the Chosen's journey and-"

"And your blade'll find its way into my heart." I responded. "And you don't have to worry about it." I shrugged and rubbed my shoulders.

"I'll allow you to live, as long as you tell me just who you are."

I leaned onto one of my feet, and stared Kratos into the eyes. "Michael Logan. My last name I won't say, but I'll go by Aura. A boy who's currently in over his head and just wants to get home, though with the way things are going everything must be over before I can."

"Really?" I jumped, latching onto the nearest thing, luckily a tree rather than Kratos, as Raine and Colette came up. Shitshitshitshitshit. Raine was the one who spoke and glared at Kratos. "There is no reason for you to be suspicious of Michael." There is. "And no reason for you to threaten him. He has not shown any sort of behavior that could hinder Colette."

"..."

I cough quietly. "Actually there is, since I really don't have any real way for you guys to verify things." They stare at me. "What, I admit I'm a suspicious guy. I won't say everything, but I won't lie about the fact that being some random guy who helped you in the temple." I point at Colette, rushing through my words. "Spoke with you about magic and mana." I pointed at Raine. "Was easily dispatched by him, though not dying." I pointed at Kratos and then in my haste pointed to the others. "And am currently accompanying two people heading in the exact same direction that you guys are. The only way I could be more suspicious is if I had already tried to kill Colette."

They all stared at me as I continued ranting, mussing my clothes and hair. "Honestly I don't intend to get your trust or anything, just I want to befriend you all during the times we're with one another."

"Why don't you and your group come with us?" Colette spoke up, getting a sigh from Kratos and a smug smile from Raine.

"Beeeecause." I blinked innocently. "My companions need to sleep, and you're heading off now. Maybe we can accompany you after the seal, or if you get there-"

"I think we might need to rest too." Raine had said, noticing so- I glanced down into my pocket and saw the kendama I had bought for Genis and the blades resting against the tree.

"... I probably should say who my companions are, huh?"

"Yes." "Please." "Not if you don't want to?" Colette smiled and I shook my head, picking up the blades.

"Let them sleep first. I don't know what happened to them, but both of them seem to be emotionally and mentally drained."

The three nodded and I started to what little I knew. "I saw what looked like desians heading into Iselia, and by the afternoon, there was a lot of smoke and embers coming from it..."

**More Dialogue heavy chapters, but that's really just how I think. I rarely notice actions, but words, tones, phrases, etc are keyed into.**


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